Key result
Oral THC dose-dependently increased heart rate, decreased high-frequency heart rate variability, and increased subjective ratings of intoxication and anxiety compared to placebo.
Why the study?
THC can cause adverse effects like tachycardia and anxiety that may be pronounced in women, who remain underrepresented in clinical cannabinoid research.
Does oral THC affect autonomic cardiac activity and subjective anxiogenic effects in healthy adult women who are occasional cannabis users?
RCT
Does oral THC affect autonomic cardiac activity and subjective anxiogenic effects in healthy adult women who are occasional cannabis users?
Oral THC acutely increases heart rate and decreases parasympathetic cardiac control in a dose-dependent manner in healthy women, which correlates with subjective intoxication.
Alerts clinicians to potential autonomic effects of oral THC in women; leaves open generalizability and clinical relevance pending replication.
-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can produce serious adverse effects including tachycardia and anxiety. These effects can be especially pronounced in women, who remain underrepresented in clinical cannabinoid research. The present study is one of the first to characterize the effects of single doses of oral THC on autonomic nervous system function in healthy adult women. Occasional female cannabis users participated in three laboratory sessions in which they received oral THC (7.5 and 15 mg) and placebo. Autonomic measures included heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), pre-ejection period (PEP) a measure of cardiac sympathetic functioning, and high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) a measure of parasympathetic cardiac control. Autonomic responses were examined in relation to subjective drug effects. THC dose-dependently increased HR, decreased HF-HRV, and increased ratings of feeling a drug effect, cannabis-like intoxication, and anxiety. Although the drug did not significantly affect BP or PEP, HR was negatively related to both PEP and HF-HRV. HF-HRV, the measure of parasympathetic activity, was significantly negatively related to subjective measures of cannabis intoxication (but not anxiety) at the 15 mg dose only. PEP was not significantly related to any subjective measure. These results extend our knowledge of the autonomic effects of THC in relation to subjective drug experience. This and future studies will help us to understand risk factors related to cannabis use.
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Pabon et al. (2021) conducted an RCT in Healthy occasional cannabis users. Oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vs. Placebo was evaluated on Autonomic measures (heart rate, blood pressure, pre-ejection period, high frequency heart rate variability) and subjective drug effects. Oral THC dose-dependently increased heart rate, decreased high-frequency heart rate variability, and increased subjective ratings of intoxication and anxiety compared to placebo.
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